Air Commodore Peter Cribb -Obituary

Air Commodore Peter Cribb, who has died aged 92, was one of the most successful and gallant master bombers of the Pathfinder Force; he flew more than 100 wartime operations, including one when he made an unauthorised raid on Hitler’s retreat at Berchtesgaden. Link
-

Hadrian's Wall: A horde of ancient treasures make for a compelling new Cumbrian exhibition

The Roman Emperor Hadrian, who came to the throne AD117, claimed that the gods had instructed him to "keep intact the Empire", so he planned a massive wall to defend its northern boundary against the unruly tribes beyond. There is an interesting article on the Independent On Sunday site about new discoveries. Link
-

SS Richard Montgomery

Stumbled across this story yesterday. SS Richard Montgomery was an American Liberty ship built during World War II, one of the 2,710 used to carry cargo during the war. The ship was wrecked off the Nore in the Thames Estuary in 1944 with around 1,500 tons of explosives on board, which continue to be a hazard to the area. Link
-

Lock N Load Publishing - Old PC Games

Found this interesting site that deals exclusively in old 'classic' PC games. They are all available for download for very reasonable prices. Link
-

AFV Combat Speed

There is a very interesting recent thread on The Miniatures Page (TMP) web site about AFV Combat Speed. Well worth a read, many of the postings are very entertaining and informative. Link
-

Low Fast Pass

These are some of the lowest fastest passes you will ever see, fabulous !
-

Recent Purchases - For My 15mm Sci-Fi

You know what it's like....you see something (a model or piece of scenery) and immediately think, that would just go brilliantly with X !! Well in my case this happened twice in the last month. I stumbled across some AT-43 mechs on E-Bay, and also a piece of Kryomech scenery. In both cases the manufactures are now out of business, only the gods know if we will ever see them again in production. Although both pieces are designed for 28 and 25mm, I think they look fine with my 15mm Sci-Fi collection. For scale comparison I've included a few 15mm figures and vehicles.
-

-

-

Above is the AT-43 Cobra M-8
-

-

Above is the Kryomech Anti-Aircraft Tower. Figures in the foreground by Blue Moon, vehicle by GZG.
-

Invincible, pride of the Falklands, is broken up in knacker's yard

There is nothing good at all about this, my favourite ship getting broken up :( Link
-

Operation Crossbow: How 3D glasses helped defeat Hitler

Newly released photographs show how a team of World War II experts disrupted Nazi plans to bombard Britain - with the help of 3D glasses like those in modern cinemas. See the BBC web site for more info. Link
-

WWI underground: Unearthing the hidden tunnel war

Archaeologists are beginning the most detailed ever study of a Western Front battlefield, an untouched site where 28 British tunnellers lie entombed after dying during brutal underground warfare. For WWI historians, it's the "holy grail".
See the BBC web site for for info on this interesting story. Link
-

Friday Humour

After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, Lancashire scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 100 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 100 years ago.

Not to be outdone, in the weeks that followed, a Cumbrian archaeologist dug to a depth of 20 feet, and shortly after, a story published in the Windermere Times : "Cumbrian archaeologists, finding traces of 130-year-old copper wire, have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network 30 years earlier than Lancashire".

One week later, the Yorkshire Post reported the following: "After digging as deep as 30 feet in his backyard in Bawtry , South Yorkshire , Amos Thwaite, a self-taught archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely f--k all. Amos has therefore concluded that 150 years ago, Yorkshire had already gone wireless."
-

German Tank Destroyer hoisted out from Baltic Sea

Check out this video I found on U-Tube of a WWII German Hetzer SPG being dragged out of the Baltic sea !
-

-

Rorke's Drift hero Edward Savage memorial unveiled

A memorial is to be unveiled in a Cardiff cemetery to a survivor of the Battle of Rorke's Drift.

Newport-born Edward Savage was 20 when he fought in the battle, immortalised in the film Zulu, in South Africa in 1879. See the full article on the BBC web site. Link
-

Apache helicopter: A tour around the attack aircraft

The British army's fleet of Apache attack helicopters have clocked up a landmark 100,000 flying hours, a third of which have been flown on operations in Afghanistan.

The Apaches are flown on operations by 3 and 4 Regiments Army Air Corps, based at Wattisham airfield in Suffolk, where the BBC's Caroline Wyatt was given a tour of the aircraft by Captain Murray Nicol. Link
-

Friday Humour

In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb.
Hence we have 'the rule of thumb'.


Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden'.. .and thus, the word GOLF entered into the English language.


Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.


Coca-Cola was originally green.


It is impossible to lick your elbow.


111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987, 654,321


If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.


Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers have in common ?

A. All were invented by women.


Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?

A. Honey


In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase...'Goodnight , sleep tight'


It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.


In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them 'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.'
It's where we get the phrase 'mind your P's and Q's'


Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice.


At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!


Don't delete this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the first and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by itself, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
-

Dropship Horizon Blog - The End

Slightly gutted today to find that one of my favour Blogs that I follow, Dropship Horizon is coming to an end. It has been a fabulous resource for the 15mm Sic-fi gaming community over the last couple of years and will be sorely missed.
-